U.S. Transfers "Sovereignty" to Iraq Two Days Early

Technically the handover of power ends the 14-month occupation of Iraq, but many questions remain as to how much power the US has actually handed over. The U.S. will keep 130,000 troops on the ground. US Ambassador John Negroponte will head up the largest embassy in the world. The new government will be barred from amending the interim constitution that was drawn up by the US and the US-appointed Iraqi Governing Council. The US has put in place numerous laws to protect US forces and contractors.

We go to Baghdad to speak with correspondents Patrick Cockburn of the London Independent and Christian Parenti of The Nation, electroniciraq.net founder Ali Abunimah joins us from Jordan and independent reporter Rahul Mahajan.

The ceremony was attended by a handful of Iraqi and coalition officials including the head of the Coalition Provision Authority Paul Bremer and Iyad Allawi who was selected to be Iraq's prime minister. Allawi is a former Baathist who has ties to the CIA and Saudi intelligence. Iraq's newly selected president Ghazi Yawer was also present.

Over the past week, scores of Iraqis have died in attacks that were apparently staged to disrupt the handover of power.

President Bush was in Turkey at the NATO summit while Bremer presided over the ceremony.

Bremer left the country on a US Air Force C-130 at about 12:30 p.m. Baghdad time shortly after the ceremony ended

On Saturday Bremer signed an edict that gave US soldiers and military contractors immunity from Iraqi laws even after the handover of power.

The Washington Post reports Bremer has also issued a series of other edicts that could affect how Iraq is governed for years. He has appointed at least two dozen Iraqis to government jobs with five-year terms including Iraq's new national security advisor and national intelligence chief. This means the US will have high-placed allies in government regardless of who wins the upcoming Iraqi elections.

Bremer has also formed a seven-member election commission that will have the power to disqualify political parties and candidates.

Meanwhile it has been widely reported Allawi is considering imposing martial law or issuing special emergency laws.

Allawi said during the ceremony, "The security situation of our country now lies in our hands. We are going to announce the new measures today and tomorrow."

Over the weekend Allawi also announced the U.S. would soon handover Saddam Hussein to the new Iraqi government.

The transfer of power came after a weekend that saw dozens of Iraqis die as members of the resistance launched attacks across the country. In Hilla a double car bombing killed up to 40 people. In Baquba, gunmen attacked the offices of Prime Minister Ayad Allawi's party, the Iraq National Accord, the offices of one of the country's biggest Shiite parties, the Supreme Council of the Islamic Revolution in Iraq also came under attack. At a checkpoint north of Baghdad six Iraqi National Guard soldiers were killed by anti-tank rockets. Two Iraqi children died in a mortar attack near the Sheraton Hotel in Baghdad. A U.S. soldier died in Baghdad in a rocket attack on the coalition's base. Meanwhile U.S. forces bombed Fallujah again killing up to 25 in an attempt to kill supporters of Abu Mussab al-Zarqawi.


Patrick Cockburn, journalist with the London Independent.
Rahul Mahajan, author of Full Spectrum Dominance: U.S. Power in Iraq and Beyond (Seven Stories). He has a Ph.D. in particle physics. He writes a blog at empirenotes.org.
Ali Abunimah, founder of the website electroniciraq.net, as well as electronicintifada.net. He is currently in Amman, Jordan where he has been monitoring today's developments in neighboring Iraq.
Christian Parenti, contributing writer to the Nation Magazine and author of the forthcoming book The Freedom: Shadows and Hallucinations in Occupied Iraq.

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